What remains
by Arebus
Summary: Jaune had always wanted to be a hero. When an incident hurts someone close to him, he may finally get his chance. But what will he do with what remains? AU No maidens or Salem. Cinder is still on world domination and OC Jaune. OKAY, gonna try and start this back up. Let me know what y'all think.
1. Chapter 1

_**A New Start, A New Problem.**_

The small village of Accueil rested its head in the southern portion of the kingdom of Vale, beyond the city proper. It had a modest population, a good bit of agriculture, and wide-open fields. A prominent member of this population was Jonathan Arc. Proud family-man, father to seven daughters, husband to Clarice Arc (Proud Huntress), and one of the most respected Huntsman in his graduating year at Beacon. After all the many trials he and his team had gone through he figured he could deal with being a father with little issue.

Then he had seven daughters in a row. With only a year between them. And now he faced his greatest challenge:

"It's a boy? Wait, I have a son! Oh, this is fantastic!"

The hospital staff were well acquainted with Jonathan and his antics, but even still, seeing a man well over six foot, and proven to be one of the deadliest men in the village, dance around like a child caused them to stifle a few giggles.

"Yes dear, now be quiet. You'll wake him up."

Clarice Arc sat in the hospital bed, gently cradling her son in her arms. Despite having birthed eight children, Mrs. Arc was still a beautiful woman. Standing just over six foot, fair complexion, straw colored hair, and emerald eyes that radiated warmth and motherly concern.

Jonathan, having contained his excitement for the moment, walked to her shoulder so he could look at his sons sleeping face.

"So, what'll we name him? He'll need a strong name to survive this house."

Clarice spent a moment just stroking the baby's soft, golden hair before answering,

"Jaune. Let's name him Jaune Arc."

* * *

 _ **Twelve years later-**_

"Dad, Dad! Where are you?"

Jonathan looked up from the chili he had been making for dinner, confusion marring his smile.

Not once in all eighteen years of her life had Jonathan ever heard his eldest sound so worried. Violet Arc burst through the door of the kitchen red-faced, her violet-tipped blonde flying behind her.

"Hey, what's wrong sweetie? It's not like you to just run through the house yelling-"

Violet snatched her father's hand and started dragging him outside. "It's Jaune! Apparently, some idiots from school were messing with Verte, and when Jaune heard he went to go confront them. He's gonna get himself hurt, you need to stop him!"

The moment his sons name left her mouth, Jonathan started to overtake his daughter. He was never one to show partiality, not that Jaune would accept it (ever the little hero), but this was his only son. There wasn't a chance in oblivion Jonathan would just wait idly by for Jaune to come back bloodied and broken.

"Do you know where they are?" Violet nodded, leading her father toward the town square. It was common for kids from Verte and Noir's school to hang out near the fountain. They ran through town, no one having the mettle to stand in the way of an emotional Arc.

"What do you want runt?" Violet heard the condescending voice before she could actually see the confrontation.

"You owe my sister an apology, friend." A group of four high schoolers stood facing Jaune, all of them looking less than pleased he was bothering them. The ringleader stood at a solid five and a half feet tall, but even as a ten-year-old Jaune almost matched him in height.

"Who? Oh, you mean the broad with the green hair and great legs? Ha, she should be glad a man like me is even looking in her direction. She's nerdy, but that body makes up for it."

Jonathan felt his hands clench, but he stayed still. He could see his son's eyes, and the way Jaune looked at this boy stopped Jonathan in his tracks.

When he was playing with his sisters, Jaune's eyes looked like the ocean on a warm summer day, rolling and laughing, brimming with warmth.

When he was working on something important they looked like sapphires, hardened and brimming with an unbreakable determination. But now?

They looked like ice.

Cold and unforgiving, the rage and power shrouded in a pretty facade.

But Jaune's voice never raised, he never stooped to cursing, and he never even sounded angry.

"Be careful what you say. That's my sister you're speaking about. Now, we can deal with this simply, right? Just apologize for what you said, and we never have to talk again. Sound good?"

Violet saw it too late. The glint in the leader's eye. The tensing of his body, the way he shifted his weight. She couldn't move in time.

"Yeah, runt. We'll take care of this really quick."

All Jonathan could see was red. The red of his rage, the red of his target's shirt, the red of his son's spilt blood seeping into the grass. He crossed the field in less than a second, back handed one of the friends who was foolish enough to stand in his way, and lifted the leader by his throat. No words were spoken. The leader finally realized who he had picked a fight with. It wasn't the scrawny blond with the cut along his right cheek who was struggling to his feet. It wasn't the older sister going to go help him. It was with the living, breathing death threat that was holding the leader almost a foot of the ground.

"Dad. Stop."

His son's voice shook him from his haze, the Huntsman clearing his thoughts of homicide. His rage was replaced with worry at the sight of Jaune's now wounded cheek, a laceration from his right jaw to the same ear.

"Relax Dad. It was my fault for getting in over my head. Put him down, let the law do its job."

Jonathan released the brat and walked over to help his son to his feet. He could feel his anger simmering in the back of his throat, but right now he had more pressing matters.

"Son, someday that hero complex will get you hurt. You know you can't help everyone, right? Leave some of this stuff to Police and Huntsman."

"Yeah… About that."

* * *

 _ **Five years after the incident**_

Noir followed the sound of her brother's ragged breathing to the training room. Violet had been worried when Jaune said he wanted to be a Huntsman, but she was the oldest so that made sense. Blanc hadn't been thrilled, but she could never say no to her little brother. Verte had been completely against it, terrified that her adorable baby brother could be hurt. Rouge had been impressed with how quickly Jaune had picked up swordplay and wanted to test him every chance she got. Azura was excited to see her brother find a dream and knew he would follow it. Rose was in love with the idea of her brother becoming a white knight, just like in her fairytales.

Noir though, was a different story. She had always wanted Jaune to be happy, and she knew that helping people made him happy. She just worried that one day he may forget to help himself, and everyone would be worse off if that ever occurred.

Noir pushed the door to the training room open and found Jaune leaning against the weapons rack, clad in jeans and his favorite hoody with pieces of platemail on his chest, forearms, shins and feet. The old family weapon, Crocea Mors, lay at his feet.

"Hey sis. What's up?"

Noir looked to the clock on the wall, which showed the time to be about twelve thirty, and looked back to her brother with a frown.

"Jaune, you've been training for almost six hours non-stop. It's impressive and good work, yeah, but why don't we take a break? How about you clean up, then we'll both head into town. Maybe look at getting some presents for Rouge's birthday. You always seem to know her better than the rest of us."

Jaune looked around as he thought. He had hoped to take the winter break to start training harder. The Arcs were constantly busy, and with how much Jaune and his father helped around the town, traditional combat school hadn't been an option.

His only hope now was to impress the headmaster of his chosen academy in skill and tactical appraisal. Jaune was a good tactician, but there was always room to improve his swordplay. Ever since his father unlocked his Aura he had been training to be a defensive fighter. Evidently Jaune had massive reserves of Aura, and it was stronger than usual too.

Realizing he had left his sister waiting for an answer he looked back to her, knowing that she hadn't really been asking.

"Yeah, sounds like fun. Let me shower up, I'll meet you in town." Noir nodded and left her brother to his own devices.

* * *

Once Noir had reached the town square, she decided to look around for some shops she thought might help Jaune with his fighting. She knew he could use better armor, but he refused to use a weapon that wasn't Crocea Mors.

As she walked by the window of a blacksmith she saw a figure dressed in white and black robes standing inside. The man's tunic had a red wolf head with three red claw marks going across it.

The White Fang. What had once been a peaceful organization for the defense of Faunus, a sub species of human with small animal characteristics, that had turned into a terrorist group. The terrorist reached into his tunic and pulled out a small black cylinder, waving it while shouting something.

Noir turned as she heard Jaune call her name. She watched him run in her direction with a large grin across his face. He was too far away to be caught up in it. Noir smiled softly as she burned the image of her baby brother smiling into her mind.

 _Not a bad last image, you know?_ She thought. Then the wall behind her splintered and crashed into her, erasing any further thought.

Jaune stopped dead when he saw Noir disappear. It couldn't be. It just… doesn't work like this. It's Noir. It's big sister. She doesn't die.

 _She's always there. She taught me how to fight. Why to fight. She can't just… leave._

As Jaune's brain desperately tried to rationalize what had happened, his instinct was already moving.

Aura is the manifestation of your soul. It shields you and bears your burdens. A semblance is a concentrated version of that. Something to give you a light in times of need and is intrinsically linked to you in your purest form.

Jaune's body was wrapped in his aura as he charged toward the wreckage. He caught sight of his sister's leg under a mostly intact piece of wall. It might as well have been tissue paper as Jaune threw it down the block with a single hand.

Noir's injuries were mostly internal due to her aura protecting her from outward harm. Jaune cupped her cheek as he held her close, feeling the last warmth of her body start to vanish.

No.

 _No._

 _ **NO.**_

All at once, the full power of Jaune's aura came to bear and a white fire cloaked Noir's broken body. Jaune couldn't feel or distinguish anything other than his own voice calling for Noir to come back. Finally, through the roaring white, he heard her voice.

"Jaune, what did you do…"

And all was black.

 **Alright y'all, explanation time. I know I said I had given up on this, and I know I promised to have** _ **Lux Noctis**_ **be my main focus. I assure you it is. This is a side project, and I'm hoping to fix a lot of the issues here, and maybe find my way back into it. I despise the way I left this, so I'm going to try and fix it up. Thanks for reading, guys!**

 **Arebus.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright, little more explanation. If I can, I'm going to try and finish reworking this chapter and the next tonight, and maybe an extra little something. Then over the week I'll work on the next chapter of Lux Noctis, post that, and maybe by next Monday I'll be ready to post a continuation of What remains. I don't know how many of you original readers will come back and read this, but I hope you do.**

 _Aftershock_

The sunset cast its rays over the city of Vale, but on this day, it was not peaceful. The man standing in his tower, surveying the city, toyed with his cane as he pondered the ominous feeling in the air.

"Headmaster, you have a call waiting for you."

The man turned to face his old friend and partner, her platinum blonde hair catching the sun's rays just right. Glynda walked forward and presented the Headmaster with a large black scroll.

"Ask them to wait Glynda. There is something that has been bothering me today."

As he turned back to the window, Glynda gently placed a hand on his arm, drawing his attention back to her. Ozpin began to really get nervous, as Glynda hardly ever initiated physical contact. Something had put the Headmistress on edge.

"What is it?"

Her head lowered before she spoke.

"Jonathan Arc. He wants to talk. Something… happened."

Ozpin's face twisted at the mention of the Arc. _Jonathan? We haven't talked in years, not since his son's tenth birthday. Why call now?_ Ozpin took the proffered scroll and accepted the call.

"Oz, that you?"

 _What could have happened? Jonathan sounds like he's been hit by a Goliath._

"Yes Jonathan. What's wrong? There must be a reason you've called after all this time."

There was a pause. Ozpin could hear the Arc trying to keep his emotions in check.

"It's Jaune."

The headmaster's grip on the scroll became slack, his already pale skin taking on an even lighter hue.

 _Not him. Not the boy._

There were many times when Ozpin had to reconcile with the death of a friend, but to have something happen to Jaune. He was so young, so innocent, so pure and kind hearted. Surely, they hadn't lost such a bright light so early in life?

"What do you need Jonathan. Say the word, it will be done."

"Thank you, Oz. Could you and Glynda make it to Accueil?"

Ozpin could almost feel the relief in the man's voice.

"We'll be there in the morning."

* * *

 **At Accueil General Hospital; Emergency Room 12-**

Cold. It was just… cold. Not freezing, not painful, not pleasantly cool. Just cold. Just an empty ether. Jaune felt something against his arm, something warm. It was faint, and so very far away. It felt like someone was embracing him, but Jaune was too numb to actually feel it correctly.

 _I guess… something happened. Am I unconscious? If I were, I wouldn't be cognizant of my surroundings, right?_

"Jaune…"

 _Wait. Noir. That's Noir's voice. She sounds sad._

"Jaune, please. Please wake up. We need you back. Please."

 _Why is she crying? Don't cry sis. I… hate when… you… cry? Why does that sound weird? Nothing feels… right? Wait, what is that…_

As his eyes opened, Jaune could only just make out the image of his sister standing over him. Everything hurt, but it was just a dull throb, like an old wound acting up.

"Jaune… Jaune, you're awake!"

Jaune was smothered first by Noir, who was quickly followed by the rest of his sisters and mother. A chorus of expletives and inquiries about his health assaulted him, but for some reason Jaune didn't really feel overwhelmed.

"I feel fine guys. Promise. What happened, exactly? All I remember is seeing Noir, and then something happened."

Jaune's father stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"A White Fang suicide bomber blew up the blacksmith's shop. Old man Kyle is gone, but his daughter was out on an errand. Noir got caught in the blast too."

Jonathan looked over at the rest of his family and nodded. They all gave him a kiss on the cheek and a tight hug before filling out of the room. Jonathan pulled a chair up to Jaune's bed and sat heavily into it.

"Jaune, if you're feeling up to it, I'd like for you to talk to an old friend. You remember Ozpin and Glynda, right? Let's see if they can't try and make sense of something that happened. What'd ya say?"

"Yeah, sounds good. I feel fine."

Jonathan hesitated as he turned to the door. Something was off. Even if he had just woken up from a major injury, Jaune was acting different. Jaune had been hurt plenty of times and always kept his sunny disposition, always managing to console his mother and sisters. But not once had he smiled. Not even a twitch of the lips or a squint of the eyes.

But he also wasn't frowning or grimacing. He didn't look like he was in pain, and he hadn't shown any anger when Jonathan mentioned the Bomber. There should have been something… right?

Jonathan shook his head to dispel his thoughts, opening the door to permit Ozpin and Glynda.

Glynda moved forward first, gently taking Jaune's hand for a formal handshake.

"Hello Jaune, it's always a pleasure to see you again."

"Likewise, Ms. Goodwitch."

Glynda froze mid step, her hand still in Jaune's. _Ms. Goodwitch? Something is definitely wrong. The boy's been calling me Aunty Glynda since he was in diapers, for Monty's sake._

Thankfully, Ozpin stepped forward to fill the silence.

"Good evening Jaune. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, Sir. Just a mild ache, but considering my circumstance's, I'd suppose that's the best I could hope for."

Ozpin shivered at the boys tone. Something wasn't right, everything about the boy was off in one way or another.

"Jonathan, you've unlocked your son's aura, correct?"

"Yeah, a while ago, when he started training for real. Why do you ask?"

"I thought you had told me he had quite a large reserve? One you had never seen the likes of?"

"Well, yeah he does. I was guessing that's why he managed to help Noir. No one else could've handled that much healing."

Ozpin fell silent at Jonathan's comment. _Healing? Ah, an aura transfer. But Noir said she was fatally wounded. He couldn't possibly have transferred enough…_

"Jaune, do you think you can stand?"

"Yes sir."

Jaune extracted himself from the many cords attached to him and stood before the three Hunters. Despite his complaint of an ache, he looked to be the picture of health.

"Jaune, summon your aura to your hand. Create a shield around it."

A basic exercise. Easy enough for a middle schooler to accomplish the feat. With Jaune's aura, he should be able to punch through the floor of the hospital without a scratch.

"Sure thing."

Jaune extended his left arm, where Crocea Mors shield would rest, and summoned his aura. A soft white flowed over his hand, solidifying into a gauntlet reminiscent of Jaune's armor.

Then it flashed a deep purple, almost black. The coloration of Noir's aura.

Then it vanished.

His theory confirmed, Ozpin desperately tried to convey his findings to Jonathan. But how could he say something like this casually?

"Jonathan. I'm… I'm so sorry. I don't know how to say this…"

Jonathan began to sweat. Nothing made Ozpin stutter.

"Oz, what happened?"

"His aura, it seems to be depleted. Whenever we run out, there is always some amount that remains. But this, it seems, was not enough in Jaune's instance. Noir needed it all to survive, so that's what Jaune did."

The door buckled inward as Noir charged in. Her aura was raging around her and shifting from a deep purple to a very light lavender. Tears were streamed down her face as she latched onto her baby brother.

"I felt it. Jaune, I can feel it. This isn't mine. It's different, but it won't go back to you. It wants to help me, but it won't go back."

Ozpin laid his hand on her shoulder, his own verdant aura to soothing hers.

"Noir, it won't go back. It's yours now. He gave it to save you, and now it cannot do anything but the task it was assigned. Aura is your soul in physical form. Jaune had one goal in mind, and now that is the only purpose for that aura. To protect you."

Jaune looked between them and hung his head, thinking for a while. Noir expected him to look up covered in emotion, upset that he could no longer be a Huntsman. But there was nothing. No fear, no rage, no disappointment, and no tears.

Just blank.

"I'll have to adapt. Training will have to focus more on dodging than receiving."

Jonathan's eyes widened to comical proportions.

"Training? Jaune you can't be a Huntsman, you have no aura! You'd be killed in one hit."

Yet again, Glynda broke from her normal role. She strode forward and placed a hand on Jonathan's shoulder.

"Jon, it would be best if he came to Beacon. If he can learn, if he can adapt, he will be safer than if he were to rely on one of you to take care of him from now on. Please let us help."

 _Glynda never calls me Jon. She's right, but what if… Agh, fine. Clarice is going to kill us all, then lock Jaune up for the rest of his life. Brothers, this had better work._

"Jaune, what do you think. Can you still keep your word?"

Noir looked horrified but before she could cry out her defiance, Jaune had gently grasped her shoulder.

"Always."

* * *

 **Okay, last time I put some clarification here, so I'll do that again.**

 **Jaune does not have any aura as of this moment. If he gets hit, it'll hurt just like it'd hurt one of us.**

 **We now have a very different Jaune than normal. Instead of the jovial and happy Jaune, we have someone who almost seems apathetic.**

 **Noir wasn't technically dead, not yet. She was on her way out, and her aura needed whatever it could get to power itself back up. Jaune was that jumpstart.**

 **In the actual time line, we are a few months before initiation. Assuming they start like most American Schools, Initiation should be in the fall. So, the time between about February and August will be spent in Vale, Jaune just kinda hanging out. I'm assuming that Ruby fighting Roman is like two or three days before the first day.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay then, here we go. I know I'm doing this kinda spontaneously, and pretty quickly too, but if you guys have any thoughts on the reworks or any ideas for the story, just shout'em out.**

 _A Rose Blooms and a Soul is Reforged_

Jaune chuckled into his scroll as he listened to his mother's worries. Professor Ozpin had brought Jaune back to Vale with him and gave him a hotel to stay until the Semester at Beacon began. After a few months, Jaune began to show rapid improvement. His eyes regained their lost joviality, he had spring in his step, and his sense of humor was back to its grand stature (much to his sister's dismay).

Much to everyone's dismay, his aura remained unresponsive.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine Ma. No, I don't need anything. Don't worry about coming to see me, I know you're busy. No, I'm not saying you're too busy for family. No- Ma. Mom. Mother! I'm just saying not to push yourself. Yes… I understand the irony of that statement. Look, I promised you and Noir and Verte _and_ Dad that I would be careful. No, I'm not going to go pick a fight with criminals! Ma, would please relax. Everything is fine here."

Somewhere in the back of Jaune's mind, he realized that the moment he said those words he had doomed himself.

* * *

"Relax, we're not here for your money. Get the dust."

The man's smooth voice floated over the store. As the men spread around and began collecting their haul, one noticed a small girl with a cape in the back of the store.

"Alright, put your hands up." She made no movement to comply.

"I said, put'em up!" Still she continued reading her comic.

The henchman grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. And then noticed the headphones blaring rock music.

He sighed and pointed towards his own ears.

"Can I help you?" As she lowered her headphones around her neck, the man felt his irritation rise further.

"Put your hands where I can see'em, and you won't get hurt."

The young girl cocked her head in much the same manner as a confused puppy.

"Are you… robbing me?"

"Yes!"

"Oh…"

Roman sighed as one of his lackeys was bodily thrown against the window. He nodded his head towards another of the idiots, and sighed yet again as he was hurled through the window. He watched as the rather petite little girl unfolded a scythe easily twice the size of her.

"Okay… Well? Get her."

Ruby Rose grinned. _Finally! I can show of my wicked moves! Oh, Uncle Qrow would be so proud!_

Needless to say, the henchmen would be nursing their injuries for several days, and their pride for substantially longer.

"You were worth every cent, truly you were. Well Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening. And as much as I'd love to stick around," Roman raised Melodic Cudgel and leveled the sight at the young Rose. "This, is where we part ways."

The muzzle of the cane flared and a dust projectile streaked towards Ruby. She readied Crescent to fire downwards, hoping to use the recoil as a means of quick escape.

As fate would have it, she didn't need to bother.

An arm wrapped around her waist carefully but quickly, dragging her behind the body of a young man. The explosive round detonated on the ground behind them, with the new arrival taking the brunt of the force.

"Agh, that'll leave a mark. You okay?" Ruby looked towards her "savior." Despite not needing help, she appreciated the sentiment. The young man was tall, decently built, with blond hair and deep blue eyes.

"Yeah, I'm good. Wait! Where'd he go?"

The two scanned their surroundings and caught sight of the thief climbing a ladder to the roof of a building. Jaune reached to the middle of his right thigh and drew his secondary weapon.

While adamant that he would use the Arc ancestral blade, he was no fool. Jaune knew range came in handy sometimes, and as such had a custom sidearm for just such occasions.

He drew the weapon and sighted down its length, thousands of hours on the range making the movements practiced and easy. He fired two shots at the target, a double-tap into the thief's back. _Not a bad shot at that distance, if I do say so myself._

Though it knocked the wind out of the man, the damage was momentary, as the bright orange aura drifted around Roman. _Whoops, forgot about that._ Jaune tried to think of a way to intercept the fiend. _How about a new friend?_

"Hey Miss! Come here, I'll give a boost and you run him down! I'll catch up as fast as I can on foot."

Ruby turned to see the young man holstering his gun and lacing his hands together. She nodded with a quick smile and ran straight for him. She had expected a civilian to only really give her a little boost, mostly taking the offer to make the boy feel better.

She underestimated. He was strong. Really, really strong. Maybe even Yang strong. _Is he a Huntsman-in-training?_

Jaune grunted as he hurled the youth upward. _Huh, I guess she's just really light. Either that or I'm a huge pansy around my sisters when they ask me to carry them. Well, better get climbing._

As Jaune continued his way up the ladder, he heard the sounds of the two combatants talking, followed by and explosion. As he crested the lip of the roof he was met with and interesting sight.

The thief looked exceptionally peeved at the situation.

The young scythe-wielder was staring at someone with awe-struck eyes.

That someone was none other than Auntie Glynda.

 _Uh-oh._

As the huntress twirled her wand, the shattered roof rose as her weapon of choice and struck at the hovering Bullhead.

Jaune sidled up next to Scythe-girl as they both drew their weapons, adding heavy caliber sniper and 45. caliber pistol fire into the twirling monstrosity that Glynda was attacking with.

As a figure with glowing symbols surrounding them stepped out, Glynda finally caught sight of Jaune.

 _Why are you here? How do you always do this!_

As Glynda fretted within her mind, Jaune and Ruby opened fire on the mystery guest, only to have their rounds burn to ash before them.

The ground beneath them came alive with glowing orange glyphs. Glynda tried to grab both, but the young girl wasn't close enough to be drawn into her semblance. As the ground erupted in fire, Glynda jumped back and dragged Jaune with her.

Not before noticing something interesting though.

As Ruby weathered the attack, Jaune's body flashed a suspiciously ruby red color. Jaune clutched at his chest in pain, and the young prodigy came out of the flames looking bewildered but no worse for wear.

 _Interesting._

"You're a real Huntress! Can I have your autograph?"

 _Oh, drat. I'll have to take them both to Ozpin now. Not before I deal with Jaune though._

* * *

Jaune glanced around nervously. While Glynda was clearly worried about his health, she was also angry. Very angry.

"What were you thinking Jaune! You could've been injured or killed."

"And so could you and that other girl! I know I'm at a greater risk, and I promise I wasn't looking for any trouble. I was just going to go and grab a bit more ammo, and maybe another couple magazines for my sidearm, and then I heard an explosion, and I just got caught up in everything, and I'm really-"

Glynda placed her hand over Jaune's mouth. _Strange, not like him to ramble like that._

"Jaune. I know you want to help, but you must be careful. Promise me to stay out of trouble?"

Jaune let his head fall as he nodded. Glynda knew he wasn't upset at the scolding, he knew what he was in for. He was downtrodden because Roman Torchwick had escaped. In Jaune's mind, he failed.

"Don't start Jaune. You did much better than could be expected. Torchwick is not a man to be apprehended so easily."

"Thanks Auntie Glynda."

A rare smile graced the huntress. She may have tried to correct the name early on, but at this point it was a sign that Jaune was returning to normal, even if it was in such a small way.

"You're welcome Jaune."

* * *

Jaune leaned himself against the wall of the airship. _Why couldn't I just get a ride with Auntie Glynda or Uncle Ozpin?_ His stomach decided to make itself known by attempting to kill its owner. _Ah, that would be why. Please let this end._

"All passengers we are now entering Beacon airspace. Students please ready to disembark."

 _Oh, thank Monty._

Jaune stumbled out of the thrice-blasted contraption. He breathed slowly to try and soothe his rebellious innards. As he glanced around the courtyard he was graced with the sight of his new comrades. His thoughts?

 _Well, that is a ridiculously large weapon. Whatever, classics are better._

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice. He turned to see the young girl from earlier in the week, Ruby was her name, getting scolded by a beautiful girl clad in white. Who was very upset at Ruby. And shaking red dust in the poor snipers face.

 _That'll end well. Oh, she's gonna sneeze. This'll probably come back to bite me._

"Uh, 'scuze me, Miss?"

Jaune reached the stark white girl, just as Ruby lost her control. Jaune pulled the girl back and covered her with his back, much the same way he had with Ruby.

Only this time, he was on fire.

"Oh, crap crap crap!" Jaune tore his hoody off and began to stomp on it in an attempt to put it out. The rather startlingly white girl pulled out a vial of ice dust and froze the fire in its tracks. "Uh, thanks Miss…"

"You! You dolt! First you knock over my luggage, and now you set this poor man on fire! How can you be so dense!"

Ruby stood, finally riled to anger by the girls haughty tone. "Well, excuse me princess! At least I don't shake dust in random people's faces!"

"It's heiress, actually."

The cool voice cut through the tension before it could really begin. Jaune turned to see who had spoken and was rewarded with a rather exotic visage.

Tall, slender, pale, with breath taking black hair, and iridescent golden eyes. Something about her put Jaune on edge, though he quenched the reaction. He just got here, he'd rather not make an enemy already.

As the girls continued to argue, the now-introduced Weiss Schnee stormed off in a rage. Ruby turned to thank the girl who had intervened, only to find that she had begun to stalk off. Jaune could see her mood fall like a rock.

 _Well, can't have that, now can we?_

"Come on Rose, exploding twice in as many days? Maybe I should start calling you Crater-Face." Ruby turned to him with a pout before poking him in the stomach.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Beacon, Jaune? We could've flown together, and I could've introduced you to my big sister Yang!"

Jaune chuckled at her betrayed face before ruffling her hair.

"Sorry, everything has kinda been hectic recently. Come on, let's get moving to the auditorium."

* * *

"Look, I'm just saying; Air sickness is much more common than people let on."

"I'm sorry, Vomit Boy was the first thing to come to mind!"

Jaune grinned as he poked Ruby's side, earning a squeak from the reaper.

"Alright Crater-Face. Two can play this game."

Ruby sent him another pout as she heard her nickname, but when Jaune poked her side again she couldn't help but let out a little giggle.

 _Oh? What have we here…_

Jaune's grin turned into a smirk. "Ruby… are you-"

"No! No I am not!"

The smirk evolved into a full smile as his hands twitched by his side.

"Are you sure?"

Ruby started to back towards the auditorium.

"Jaune Arc, if you even think about it I will give you a haircut with Crescent Rose!"

Jaune paused and tilted his head. "Crescent…?"

Ruby's eyes widened to comical proportions. "Oh my goodness! I didn't officially introduce you!"

Ruby reached behind her and drew her weapon of choice.

Jaune whistled in appreciation as he got a closer look at the scythe he had seen a few days ago. Despite its ability to collapse and be stored easily, the weapon looked solid and the blade's edge looked like it could easily slice through a Grimm hide. Jaune had seen the devastation the high caliber rounds in the rifle portion could cause. The weapon was innovative and definitely lethal.

"This is my baby, Crescent Rose! It's a scythe and high-impact sniper rifle combination."

"A heavy caliber rifle combined with a gardening tool, with enough recoil to physically move the operator. A unique design, I'll give you that. But doesn't that make reacquiring your targets hard? That much recoil, even if you can control it enough to not fly away, would make it extremely taxing to use in a large scale battle. Not to mention how tiring it would be."

Ruby's eyes sparkled as her biggest hope for Beacon was realized.

 _A new nerd! And a weapon nerd at that!_

"Well, actually, there's a built-in compensator. Typically, if I'm just using the rifle portion, I stow the Scythe's blade, which allows for more weight to be on the front end. That way I have more opposition to the recoil. Also, most high caliber sniper rifles don't have a recoil pattern that goes upward, it goes more backward toward the shoulder stock. It'd be much harder to control the recoil if my rifle was the size of your pistol. Wait! You haven't shown me your weapons!"

Jaune couldn't explain it. He had never cared to talk this much about a weapon. Sure, he found them fascinating and was just as happy to learn about ways to kill Grimm as the next guy, but he was never this ecstatic about it. Weird.

 _Come to think of it, I've been feeling really giddy and energetic for the past few days. Oh well, that's better than being gloomy, right?_

He shrugged as he deployed his kite shield and drew his sword. "This is Crocea Mors. My family's ancestral blade. It was forged during the Great War."

"Sounds more like a family heirloom than a Huntsman's Weapon."

"Yeah, you'd think that, but Crocea is special. Not entirely sure about the specifics, but I know it was forged in a unique way. The blade has never chipped, dulled, or broken. The shield has never failed, and more than once it has been used as a last resort weapon. As far as I know, these guys are indestructible." Jaune suppressed a smirk at the gob smacked expression on his new friend.

"That's so cool! Oh, can I hold him? Please!"

Jaune chuckled a little as he handed Crocea hilt first to the excitable girl. She squealed and hugged the blade close, tracing the edge, the fuller, the cross guard, and every other part of the sword.

"Oh! But you had a gun too, didn't you?"

"Yeah, my 45." He nodded as he drew the sidearm. It was decent sized, big enough to control recoil but small enough that it wouldn't be taxing during long missions. "I named it Caerus. It comes from an Old deity, one who personified luck and favorable moments. Thought if I named her something like that, I might actually hit my target."

Ruby snickered at the name, but was impressed by the care Jaune put into it. The weapons were both obviously clean and Caerus looked to be well oiled and adjusted to fit Jaune just right.

"But why didn't you just get-" A chiming sound interrupted her as it played through the PA system. They looked at each other with wide eyes.

"The entrance ceremony!"

* * *

Jaune stretched as he walked into the ballroom. As much as he loved his sisters, he figured he'd save the onesie until he was comfortable with his team. As such he just had a simple pair of drawstring pants and an undershirt on. The male students were clearly showing off to the female population, taking as much time as possible with getting ready for bed. Jaune shook his head as he walked toward a quiet corner.

 _I'd rather just get some sleep. Ever since Uncle Oz's speech, I've been feeling really tired._

As he made it to his spot of choice, he noticed the raven-haired girl from earlier a little ways off.

 _Eh, might as well, right? Maybe we can get off on a good foot._

"Hi there, I'm Jaune." A pair of golden irises looked to him, a flicker of recognition running through them.

"Hi. I'm Blake."

Jaune could hear it in her voice. 'I really don't care, just let me read.' A common tone when one has Violet for an elder sister.

 _Well, I guess I'd better let her be- Ooooh, is that Jekyll and Hyde?_

"Your book. Is it Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

"Oh. Uh, yes, it is. I didn't think anybody here would recognize it."

"My big sister loves reading. Best way to bond with her was to pick up a book so you could share it with her."

Jaune shrugged unabashedly. Being well-read was nothing to be ashamed of, Huntsmen are more than muscle and big guns. "From the look of it, you've read the book before."

A soft chuckle preceded her reply. "Yes, more than a few times. Come to think of it, weren't you the guy from earlier? With the Schnee and the little girl who exploded?"

"Uh, yeah that was me. Second time me and Ruby met via explosive." A raised eyebrow and tilted head. "We'll save that for another time. Let's try again." *Ahem * "Hello Miss. My name is Jaune Arc, Huntsman-In-Training. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Blake gave him an appraising look before shifting to a coy smile.

"Hello Mr. Arc. I am Blake Belladonna, Huntress-In-Training and student of Beacon. I look forward to studying with you, and perhaps fighting alongside you."

The two smiled as they shook hands, glad to have met someone who wasn't quite as crazy as everyone else at Beacon.

And then, because fate loved to toy with him, Jaune's aura flashed and shocked them both.

 _Ah, crap._

* * *

 **Okay, here is the next rework. For the most part, I really didn't change much. Some spelling and grammatical stuff, a few places where I thought it didn't flow right. I didn't really hear anyone complain about the name of Jaune's pistol last time, but if you guys don't like it, feel free to say so. I changed it from 9mm to 45. ACP because that makes more sense to me. For those of you who know about guns or like them, I think you would agree that Jaune would need the extra stopping power for things like Boarbatusks and the hardier Grimm. Anyways, that's probably it for tonight.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I should probably stop and go to bed, but this is actually really fun once you get started.**

 _Curiosity and the Cat._

 _Ah, crap. Okay Jaune, think. Your aura just shocked her. Let's ignore the fact that you don't have aura for a second, how do we explain this. Uh…_

"Sorry about that, my semblance can be a little tricky sometimes. It throws my aura out of sync for a day or two."

 _Good job Jaune! She has no clue, all is well._

Blake gave him an unimpressed glare. _Uh-oh._

"Don't worry about it, it didn't hurt. Just… never had that happen before."

"Yeah, it's really weird when it happens. I couldn't explain it if I tried. Anyway, I'll leave you to your reading. Gotta get some sleep if I'm going to be ready for initiation, right?"

She gave him a small smile and nodded to him. She looked away for a second, her face contemplative.

"Where… are you set up? If you like, this corner is fairly quiet and I'll be done reading soon."

Jaune blinked, a little surprised at how quickly the girl seemed to have adjusted to him. He inclined his head toward her, setting up his sleeping bag respectably far from her own.

"Thanks, Blake. I-" The screeching of a certain silver haired heiress interrupted their quiet chat, drawing both sets of eyes towards Ruby, Weiss, and a Blonde chick who seemed pretty amused by the whole situation.

"Uh-huh. Well, on that note, goodnight Blake."

"Goodnight Jaune."

* * *

Jaune yawned as he approached the locker rooms. His sleep had been oddly… empty? He hadn't dreamt and awoke at the slightest noise, like how his Dad had described the nights on a long Hunt.

 _I'm probably just wired for Initiation. Alright man, shake it off. Let's think for a second. It's Uncle Ozpin, so you know there has to be some sort of curveball. Let's see… No idea how we're getting partners. Maybe an unexpected way of starting? Might be based on kill count, maybe style, or we might actually be hunting a specific target._

Jaune's musing was interrupted as he neared his own locker.

"Well, I was just thinking that with your skills and my intellect we would make an excellent team." _Huh, sounds familiar for some reason._

"Oh, well… I was just planning to let the chips fall where they may." _That one's new. She doesn't sound terribly comfortable._

Jaune finally made it to his locker, only to discover two girls standing in front of it. One was the iridescently white girl from yesterday, and the other was a red-haired Amazon with Spartan-style armor and weapons.

 _Interesting choice. Light weight armor, but still able to take a hit. Would have to move carefully so I could strike before she noticed. Hard to do with Crocea. Maybe I should get a dagger or combat knife? Yeah, something smaller and quick to move._

Before Jaune could question his strange first impressions, he moved forward to speak with them.

"Excuse me, Miss Schnee?" The heiress turned to face him, a barely concealed frown stretching across her face.

"Yes?" Jaune grimaced. _Great, already made an impression yesterday. Wonder why she always has to be so irritating. Yay._

Nonetheless, he pushed on. "Sorry. That happens to be my locker behind you."

Weiss blinked once, confused that the boy before her wasn't coming to talk about her name, then stepped to the side.

"Oh. My apologies. Wait, aren't you the one from yesterday? The guy who caught fire?" _Okay, twice in a row._

"Uh, yeah. That was me. Sorry about all that. Ruby can get a little ahead of herself sometimes. She's just kinda nervous about being at Beacon without knowing anyone."

 _Hold up. How did I know that? How do I know that I actually know that and I'm not just assuming I know? Wait, she's talking. Focus now Jaune, speculate later._

"I suppose I may have been a little harsh. She should've payed more attention to her surroundings, to be fair. Where are my manners?"

Weiss straightened her shoulders, flipped her hair, and fixed Jaune with a practiced smirk. "I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee dust company, and aspiring Huntress." She daintily held out her hand for Jaune to shake.

 _Shoulders are too tense, her smile doesn't reach her eyes, she still has her dominant arm back so that I won't be uncomfortable while shaking her hand. She's practiced this. For years. And Spartan girl doesn't look too upset about me drawing away attention. Interesting._

Jaune gingerly took her hand and bowed his head slightly. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Schnee. I am Jaune Arc, Huntsman-in-training, at your service."

As Weiss showed a slightly more genuine smile, Fate decided to be a schmuck.

Again.

Their hands snapped back from each other, the air between their fingers shining baby blue for but a moment.

 _Okay; A) I really need to talk to Ozpin. Like, now. B) If you could knock that off I would greatly appreciate it. Alright Jaune, remember: If you must lie, state the same lie as before. Stick to the same idea, but don't say the exact words. That way it's more believable. And always put a small bit of truth in there if you can, it'll make a lie harder to detect. Wait, I've always been horrible at lying. Maybe it's just around my sisters?_

"I am so sorry, I completely forgot. My semblance is rather new and somewhat hard to manage. It throws my aura out of alignment for a day or two and can react poorly with others." Much to Jaune's relief, Weiss merely waved off the apology and nodded in understanding.

"Trust me, I can sympathize. My semblance seems to have a mind of its own at times." Jaune smiled in relief, though for some reason it didn't feel like his normal smile. He turned to the Spartan next to him and smiled politely.

"Hello. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I'm Jaune Arc. I hope you'll understand if I don't shake your hand too?" The red-haired warrior smiled gently and nodded.

 _Alright, my love for red heads is coming back with a vengeance. Perhaps she would be interested in an alliance. Wait, alliance? Who would care, we're gonna be assigned teams today anyway. Man, today is starting really weirdly._

"It's perfectly fine. I'm-"

"Wait, do you really not know who she is?" Weiss looked appalled at Jaune's lack of knowledge. "She is Pyrrha Nikos, top of her class at Sanctum, and winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row."

Jaune glanced out of the corner of his eye towards Pyrrha.

 _She's shying away now. She's being polite, but look at the smile. She's faking it. I think she's pissed. Uh, let's try this._

"No, sorry. It sounds like you're really talented Miss Nikos, but I'd rather see it in action, ya know? I don't mean to doubt Miss Schnee, but I trust what I can see." He turned to Pyrrha as her smile became less forced. Her eyes also seemed to gain an interested glint.

"So, I guess what I'm saying is: If you want me to be impressed, you're gonna have to prove you're as good as everyone says. Sound good to you, Miss Nikos?"

Pyrrha's grin turned wider and she nodded to him. "I believe it does Mister Arc. I look forward to seeing your skills today. And please, call me Pyrrha."

Jaune nodded to her in return. He reached into his locker to grab Crocea Mors and Caerus, having kept his armor near him over night. He had made sure to upgrade his armor before coming to Beacon. Now in addition to his cuirass and pauldron's he had both arms geared with vambraces, and a rerebrace for his shield arm. His legs were covered in greaves that had poleyn's attached at the knees and reinforced his combat boots with sabatons. The entirety of his armor maintained its color scheme of white with dark grey outlining, though his rerebrace had the Arc emblem emblazoned on it. He latched Caerus to his upper right thigh and Crocea Mors on his left hip.

"Alright ladies. I'll see you at initiation." Jaune winked and moved toward the exit.

 _Ozpin will be at the cliffs. He's always early._

* * *

"Hey, Uncle Ozpin."

Ozpin turned to his young charge. The headmaster had to admit, the boy had the air of a Huntsman. It was just something about how Jaune held himself.

"Hello Mister Arc. I would remind you to try and remain unattached to me and Professor Goodwitch." The boy nodded and looked a little abashed, but something was clearly wrong. "What is it Jaune?"

"It's my aura."

Suddenly, professional distance didn't seem as important.

Glynda ran forward and grabbed him by his shoulders, looking him over, while Ozpin reached out with his aura.

 _Dear Monty. That's why it flashed. I… am a fool. I'll have to leave him be for today, let him discover this on his own._

"What happened? Is this about what happened with Roman?" Glynda held Jaune so that he had no choice but to look her in the eye.

"I was talking with this girl Blake last night and when we shook hands my aura sparked against hers, like it was reacting to it or something. Same thing happened with Weiss Schnee about ten minutes ago. Any ideas what's going on?"

Ozpin saw the hope in the young Arc's eyes, but couldn't risk it.

 _I'm sorry my young friend._

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Arc. I'd advise you to take a few minutes and focus on your aura. Try to will it to stay active on your body."

Jaune's head cocked to the side. His "Uncle" had never led him astray before, but this seemed weird. He shrugged and took a seat on one of the many platforms near him.

* * *

 _Alright, Jaune. Easy. It's just initiation. You're just going to be thrown well over a thousand feet in the air, with no plan as to how not to die on impact, make your way through a Grimm infested forest, find a relic in some Monty forsaken temple, find a partner who you can work with well despite having never met them and it being decided by the first person you make eye contact with, and then make it back to the cliffs._

 _Alive._

 _In a few hours._

Jaune swallowed nervously as he looked at the gathered initiates. Thankfully, the young Rose was to his left, so Jaune wasn't completely alone. He looked over the top of the forest again.

 _Yup, I'm dead._

"I wish you all good luck."

 _Wait, why does that sound like we're about to start._

Gears grinding and a latch releasing was his answer. Though a dark haired young man being hurled at a forty-five-degree angle over the forest canopy made for an interesting response.

 _Okay, remember. Just because it seems like your aura is back, it still feels really low. Let's not try to tank this fall. Uh… oh! Okay, I think I have an idea._

As Jaune put the final calculations of his 'landing strategy' together, he felt his platform begin to move. Most everyone had been launched already, and most of them had landed too. Jaune braced for launch when he felt something.

Fear.

Not fear of falling, failing, or dying. Jaune knew what he had to do. This was the fear of failing someone else. Just like…

 _Just like with Noir. But, what does that-_

The ground below him launched him upward, his thoughts being scattered. Though one thought remained.

 _East. Aim east._

* * *

 **Alrighty then. So, I mostly left this one alone. Changed the spacing a little, and tried to smooth it out. Like I said, this'll get at least one more chapter to try and end it on less of a literal cliff hanger.**


	5. Chapter 5

**ALRIGHT Y'ALL. It's been a long time coming (at least it has for me) and I am finally going to try and move forward with this. I'll admit, this is going to take a back seat to Lux Noctis, but I've been working on this chapter for well over a month. At least, I have when I'm writing this part. Anyhow, enjoy and review. Pls.**

 _Blood or Water?_

The ground was coming up fast. Jaune couldn't tell why, but everything seemed muted. He knew he was moving fast. Fast enough that his reaction time might not save him.

Yet, it all seemed slow. Colors weren't vibrant, he couldn't hear, and he could see each individual branch of the forest below. Which ones would support him, which ones he could use to slow himself.

Suddenly the world slammed back into normal speed, Jaune expanding his shield and powering through three branches, spinning to plant his feet on a trunk and pushing himself off, carving a grievous scar into another tree as Crocea slowed his descent.

Jaune didn't remember ever being quite that athletic, but right now that didn't matter.

 _EastEastEastEastGoEastFightProtectEastProtectEastGiveEastProtect_

Jaune readied his shield and charged through the forest, unhindered with thoughts as irrelevant as self-preservation. He didn't care what was happening to him, someone needed help and he could be that help. Crocea's broad shield shattered the vegetation as Jaune's charge continued. Two Beowolves stood before him, standing tall and bellowing a challenge. Jaune sheathed his blade, dropped into a crouch and propped Caerus against his shield, it's muzzle flashing as Jaune slid on his knees. The wolves dropped and Jaune continued running, increasing his speed as he heard sounds of fighting.

The rampaging Knight caught a flash of white on his left and black-on-black movement to his right.

 _Taijitu. Small arms fire. 45, sounds like. Full auto. Run defense, buy them time._

Jaune's shield punched through the trunk of a tree, his explosive entrance giving him a view of the battlefield. Fighter was young, wearing green, and was getting cornered by the Black Head of the Taijitu with the White Head coming behind the poor soul. Jaune dropped into another crouch, emptying his current magazine into the Black Head.

"Hey, watch your back!" The figure flipped over the White Head's strike at the last moment, leaving Jaune to deal with a very angry snake.

 _Poor Decision._

Jaune holstered Caerus, drawing his family blade once more. He took a defensive stance, ready for any movement the Grimm made. Jaune danced around his target for a while, each trading attacks, before a cry drew Jaune's attention.

The girl had been hit by the White Head's snout, knocking her weapons away. Just as the Grimm attempted to sink it's fangs into her, the girl brought her hands up, using her aura to hold the razor edged teeth. Jaune couldn't explain it, but he saw red.

Bellowing a war cry, Jaune shield-bashed the Black Head away, driving the blade of Crocea Mors all the way through it and pinning the unholy creature to the ground. He shifted his shield to his right arm and charged the White head as it was held in place by the girl. Jaune drove the point of his shield right into the eye of the Grimm, bursting the organ and throwing the snake away from them both.

"You okay?" The girl looked a little shaken, but nodded nonetheless.

"Thanks. I'm Rian." Jaune smiled and offered his left hand, as his right was somewhat covered in gore.

"I'm Jaune. Black's still alive, but he's pinned down. White's injured but still mobile. I'll run a distraction, you get armed and get in position for a kill. Sound good?" Rian nodded and moved to reclaim her machine-pistols.

"Right. Hey, Ouroboros, that all you got? Come on then!" Jaune clattered his shield against his armor, making as much noise as he could. From what he remembered, King Taijitus had sensitive hearing, so the sound of metal on metal should be nice and irritating.

The White Head fixed the blond with its one good eye, lurching to kill the insolent human. Jaune caught the creature's mouth on his shield, wrenching its head to the side so that its blind eye was facing upward. Rian dropped from the tree tops, the fixed blades on her weapons carving a scarlet line in the Grimm's throat. The two grinned at each other as the snake began to disintegrate.

Jaune jumped a little as his own sword dropped at his feet.

"Whoops…"

The two Hunters jumped away as the Black Head lunged for Jaune. Jaune cursed his carelessness as he reloaded his sidearm, loading a clip of lightning dust.

"Rian, watch your eyes!" Jaune fired a few rounds at the snake's eyes, blinding it for a moment. Rian nodded to Jaune when she saw the plan, running to circle the Grimm. Jaune continued to bang his shield against his armor, firing every few seconds to keep the remaining Head disoriented.

Right as his last round discharged, Rian buried both blades into the back of the Taijitu's last head. The two slowly moved toward each other, clearly tired. As they neared, Jaune flashed a lighter purple color.

"Well, that was a pretty good introduction. You've got some serious moves Rian." Jaune bent over and put his hands on his knees. The girl giggled quietly, feeling surprisingly spry despite their battle.

"You did quite well yourself. I appreciate you coming to help me, though I am curious as to how you knew I was here?"

Jaune shrugged as he moved to recover Crocea Mors, sheathing the weapon and reloading his sidearm.

"Couldn't tell you, to be honest. Something just told me to head in this direction. Sixth Sense, I guess?" The two shrugged off the twist, both agreeing not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

* * *

"Come on, I think I see the temple up ahead. You doing okay?" Jaune tried to hide the pain in his left arm. Catching the Taijitu's strike had dislocated his shoulder, its movement as Rian killed it incidentally resetting the joint.

"I'm fine Jaune. Are you sure you're doing okay?" Rian still looked as fresh as when they started.

"Yep. Totally good, hundred percent." Jaune pushed his way out of the brush, hoping to evade the insightful eyes of his partner.

As Jaune approached the temple, he caught sight of a little black bow.

"Hey, Blake! That you?" Jaune felt a little smile grow as the raven-haired girl turned to face him.

 _Well, that's at least one who I know._

"Jaune. Good to see you made it. I'm guessing she's your partner?"

Jaune nodded as Rian moved to introduce herself. Before the martial artist could utter a word, Jaune was pulled into a powerful headlock.

"So! This is the Jaune I've heard about. Hi there! I'm Yang Xiao-Long, I'm Ruby's big sister. Heard you were the one to save her. Guess I owe you one pal."

 _Somehow, I doubt you two are related. Way too different._

"Not to interrupt, but I believe we may have company." Rian was right, the shadow of a Nevermore passed over the group. Though that didn't matter much to Jaune.

No, he was much too concerned with the red speck falling from the Grimm.

"Ruby." And with that, Jaune dashed forward, Yang right behind him when she registered what he had said. Jaune didn't exactly have a plan, per se, but he knew what the situation was.

 _She can't tank that. I would only barely be able to, back when. Gotta do something. Come on man, think._

She was moving faster. She was screaming too. Her weapon was a solid two or three meters away from her. She knew she wouldn't make it like this.

 _Come on! Something, anything!_

Jaune stopped just below the reaper, watching as she fell. Glaring white covered his arm for just a second. Jaune felt the strength.

 _Barely a quarter of my max._

Ruby screamed again.

 _Good enough. Use it all!_

Jaune couldn't explain what happened. He could feel the aura of Ruby's soul. Crimson, sweet, sad, and happy. He reached for his own aura, blank and lifeless.

 _Move. Move you useless thing. Move and protect her! MOVE._

Yang shielded her eyes as Jaune flashed scarlet for a moment.

Ruby made planetfall.

"Ruby! Ruby no, please Monty, no!" Yang continued her nervous babble until she reached the crater.

And found her little sister. Completely fine. A little stunned, granted, but unharmed.

"Yang? What happened?" Yang neglected to respond, instead smothering Ruby in her embrace.

Jaune slowly walked forward, kneeling next to his friend.

"Hey Crater-Face. You okay?"

Ruby started to giggle at the nickname, but she stopped when she took in Jaune's appearance. His skin was paler, his eyes had lost most of their light, and it looked like he was about to collapse from his armor.

"I'm fine. Jaune, are you okay?" Jaune smiled tiredly and rubbed her head.

"All good here. Let's finish this initiation and get home, okay?"

* * *

"Oh come on! Move, get to the bridge!" Jaune took up the rear as their group ran for the bridge. Rian called for her friend, Nora, to provide Anti-Air. Pyrrha and Jaune both stopped at the bridge to fire on the Deathstalker, neither having much effect.

The Nevermore decided it wasn't a fan of eight on two, so it shattered the bridge before they could all get across. Jaune was with Pyrrha, Rian, Blake, and a pissed off scorpion the size of a tank.

"Blake, give me the other end of your ribbon. You should trade with Nora, she'll do more against this thing. You're better suited for the Nevermore anyway." The assassin nodded, giving Jaune the end of her ribbon.

Jaune anchored himself with Crocea and began swinging Blake as she jumped off the bridge. He could feel the strain pull on his already tired and damaged shoulders, but he refused to let Blake fall. He completed one more rotation, hurling Blake toward the others.

Jaune turned back to the Deathstalker, who was currently trying to turn Pyrrha into part of the bridge. Jaune ran forward, bringing the full weight of Crocea to bear on the Deathstalker's claw. Just as he severed the joint, he saw the stinger descend toward Rian.

 _She's too focused on the other claw. Come on, whatever just happened, do it again. Please, come on._

White flickered dimly around his right hand, just enough to show Jaune he still had some aura. _Go!_

Just as the stinger made contact, there was a small spark of white, the stinger deflected just to Rian's left.

Nora let out a cry as she smashed her hammer into the Deathstalker's head.

 _No good. Too much surface area._ Jaune glanced toward the sword in his hand. _Well, supposedly you can't break. Feel like testing that pal?_

"Pyrrha, here!" Jaune threw his sword to her, drawing Caerus. "Set her up on the head. Nora, get ready to nail it down!"

Jaune kept firing as Pyrrha dodged around the creature's attacks, clambering onto its back. She wedge the ancestral blade into a gap between two chitinous plates, backflipping gracefully toward Jaune.

Unfortunately for Pyrrha, the Deathstalker's claw was already bearing down on her. Before she could even get her shield off her back, Jaune darted in front of her, bringing his own shield to bear. A cry tore its way from Jaune's mouth as he was thrown to the end of the bridge.

 _Left arm dislocated at best. Might've broken it. Definitely a few ribs gone._

"Oh, no you don't!" Nora ran forward, Pyrrha boosting the Valkyrie into the air, the ginger slammed her hammer home into Crocea's hilt.

The Grimm let out a piercing death rattle, the bridge catapulting the four clear of the crevasse.

Rian, Nora, and Pyrrha all watched in awe as Ruby dragged an entire Nevermore by its neck up the cliff, finally decapitating the poor creature.

"That was impressive." Nora and Pyrrha nodded in agreement, the three honestly too tired to care about commenting any more on the matter.

"Hey, what happened to the blond guy? He was right here!" Nora's comment broke Rian and Pyrrha from their reveries. The two spun around to see the blond in question collapsed a few feet away.

"Jaune!" They all rushed to him, turning him over to see the extent of the damage.

"We can't see anything past this armor." As Pyrrha reached to unclasp the cuirass, Rian grabbed her hand gently.

"We don't know the extent of his injuries and we can't help him out here. His armor will help hold him together until we can get him back to Beacon." The Spartan nodded, sliding the Knight's shield under his back to help keep his spine from moving. The three waited for the other group to make their way over. Together, the seven of them brought Jaune back to Beacon's infirmary.

* * *

Glynda bit her thumbnail as she watched the monitor. It wasn't changing, just like the other forty times she checked it in the past ten minutes.

"Glynda, calm yourself. Mister Arc will wake when he is ready to."

"Why didn't you tell me Ozpin? Why didn't you tell me you had figured it out?" Glynda spun to face her mentor, anger carefully concealed behind her emerald eyes.

"Because I wasn't sure Glynda. You know how fickle these things can be. They're already based on something that is barely understood, they don't seem to have any real restrictions other than aura consumption, and they can easily evolve as a person grows." Ozpin frowned a little as he looked over his young charge.

 _Semblance of the Soul. One with the power to save lives…_

 _At the cost of your own._

 **Okay, think that wraps it up. Sorry the chapters have been so short recently, the only time I really get to work on these things is after everything else is done, which is about midnight for me. Anyways, thanks for reading you guys. I appreciate all the support!**

 **Goodnight,**

 **Arebus**


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